Case Number 00371

GEORGIA

The Charge

The toughest act to follow was their dreams.

Opening Statement

Don't ask me what that tagline means, because I am in pain. Movies can be a
painful experience, as Georgia aptly proves. Just imagine 118 minutes of
your nails scraping against a chalkboard, thinly disguised as Jennifer Jason
Leigh's singing voice, and that will pretty much sum up this movie.

The Evidence

My advance knowledge of Georgia was gleaned from reading Roger Ebert's
review (very favorable, I might add) and the blurbs on the back of the DVD case.
Both sources made it sound like a pretty good movie. After watching it, I
perused several online reviews, looking in vain for a mainstream critic who was
willing to say it wasn't a good movie. Only a reviewer for Time Magazine was
willing to tell the truth. I think this further proves my assertions, first
stated in my review of The Loss Of Sexual Innocence, that critics
sometimes give good reviews just so other critics won't laugh them at them. My
self-esteem is high enough that I don't need to curry favor with the
establishment. Let the thrashing begin.

First off, I want to blame the responsible parties. Georgia was
directed by Ulu Grosbard, who was 66 at the time of the movie's release.
Grosbard has directed seven movies, the first of which was made in 1968. Most of
his career has been spent directing Broadway plays. It was written by Barbara
Turner, scribe of several made-for-TV movies, none of which starred Tori
Spelling or Valerie Bertinelli (but, I guess she can keep reaching for the
gold). Oh, and she also happens to be Jennifer Jason Leigh's mother.
Georgia stars the aforementioned Jennifer Jason Leigh and Mare
Winningham. Leigh's talent is belied by this movie. She's been very good in
other roles, such as Backdraft, Single White Female, and
Dolores Claiborne. Winningham is better known for her television work,
but she did manage to garner an Academy Award nomination for her role as the
titular Georgia (fortunately, she lost to Mira Sorvino for her amazing work in
one of my favorite Woody Allen movies, Mighty Aphrodite).

Georgia manages to make several things very clear in the first five
minutes: One, the movie is about Sadie (Leigh), but they called it
Georgia to fool good ole boys into thinking it's a movie about the South,
even though it hops all around the Pacific Coast. Two, Sadie's a drunk and not a
very good singer, sober or otherwise. Three, Barbara Turner isn't a very good
writer. I've read enough about screenwriting to know that, if you're going to
use flashbacks, at least make them work in context. In the first five minutes
alone, we see Sadie and Georgia as kids, Sadie working at a hotel, Sadie singing
with some guy she met at the hotel, and Sadie on a road trip with some guy in a
convertible through what must be either Oregon or Washington (though I've lived
in Oregon my entire life and it doesn't look familiar at all...that must be the
scene filmed in Texas).

At the end of the road trip and the confusing flashbacks, we find Sadie and
her traveling companion at a concert in Seattle (though no discernable Seattle
landmark is ever shown). Singing at the concert is a very popular woman who
sounds like Joan Baez or Linda Ronstadt or Patsy Cline (take your pick). The
crowd loves her, even the young people, who if they were in their right mind, in
Seattle, in 1995, would have been at a Pearl Jam or Alice In Chains show
instead. After listening to an eternally long country-folk ditty, we learn that
the singer is the titular Georgia (Winningham). She's none too happy that her
sister Sadie has returned to town, but she welcomes her home nonetheless.

Without warning, Georgia's out of the picture, and Sadie is singing. She
sounds like Courtney Love on a bad day, but somehow she manages to get singing
gigs and admiring groupies. One of the groupies (Max Perlich -- Ugly Naked
People, House On Haunted Hill) falls in love with her and even
marries her, even though he only knew her from delivering booze to her rat-trap
of an apartment.

Anyway, the movie goes on like this for what seems like forever with barely
a glimmer of a plot moving it along. Georgia pops in every so often to look
disapproving of her sister's lifestyle. At one point, the movie stops dead in
its tracks (as if it wasn't already mostly dead) so Sadie can sing for eight
minutes. Eight minutes of off-key, alcoholic sonic mumbling. I was ready to
either dig my eardrums out with a spork or fast-forward past the song, but I
gritted my teeth in the pursuit of cinematic justice. At one point Sadie leaves
Seattle, but it's not clear just where she went, or how she shacked up with the
guy from the road trip, or how she suddenly had a heroin addiction. I think it
was meant to give her a reason to enter rehab so the movie could have a
semblance of a happy ending...even though it ends with Sadie back onstage
cackling out "tunes" with a drink in her hand. I think the only thing
that was different was she had a shorter haircut.

Enough of me complaining about the movie; how was the DVD?

Disney (the corporate conglomerate overlord who owns Miramax) once again
confuses DIVX with DVD, and releases a disc suitable for viewing for a two-day
period then discarding. The non-anamorphic picture quality is inconsistent. Most
of the movie takes place in dark, seedy bars, and for the most part the black
level is dark and shadows are well defined, while in other scenes the darker
areas appear reddish and indistinct. In lighter scenes, the picture can become
grainy. Edge enhancement is visible quite often, and there is some shimmering (a
glaring example can be seen right at the beginning). Audio is presented in Dolby
Surround. Georgia is mostly a dialogue picture, but you'd think that the
musical sequences would have been mixed a little more appropriately. Vocals and
instruments appear to have been randomly placed across the front of the
soundstage, with little or no attention paid to the rear channel. The disc
contains no extras, unless you count the menu selection that shows poster art
for other "recommended" pictures. All of this for a list price of
$29.99US. What a rip-off.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

In light of the prosecution's overwhelming evidence, the defense has opted to
remain quiet.

Closing Statement

If you're a masochist, or like melodramatic cheese not fit for a made-for-TV
flick, by all means pick up this disc. Otherwise, show yourself some respect and
pass. If you want to see a movie about a struggling singer with personal
problems, I'd recommend John Sayles' excellent Limbo.

The Verdict

All parties involved in the production of this film and the corresponding DVD
are hereby sentenced to listen to the judge sing for 118 minutes. If, at the end
of said period any individual has not opted to swallow the provided cyanide
capsule, that person shall be remanded to film school to study how to make an
entertaining movie. Court is adjourned.